Synchronicity
by VadeXtra
Summary: Something inexplicable happened to Jin and Noel in one morning, and they were forced to work together and resolve the issue. Well, hilarity ensues. Rated M for language and theme (and potential kinky content).
1. Prologue

**Hello guys and gals! Got some free time so I whipped up yet another story for Blazblue, this time a multi-chapter comedy starring mainly Jin and Noel. Story is still flexible at the moment, so feel free to give me ideas! No pairings is planned right now.**

**The following Prologue is optional, but it should explain why I came up with the main idea of the story. Of course it goes without saying that I also got the inspiration from one of the gag endings. Also I may integrate this prologue with the second section of the story, if I feel like continuing on and writing that long.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

It is unusual to find Kagura alone and sober in his office at night. Noticing his superior sitting uptight with his brow knitted into a frown, Hibiki knows that this is not the time to disturb him. It is understandable, really, since the planned strike against the Imperator draws near and there are details that need to be ironed out. Hoping Kagura would refrain from wasting time on devising perverted plans, Hibiki silently turned around to leave.

"Hibiki," Kagura noticed his presence however. "Are you free at the moment? I want to check on some documents from the archives."

"Certainly sir. What do you need?"

"I want to look at some records of the 4th Squadron. More specifically, bring me the records starting from the time when Noel became Jin's secretary till the end of last year. Appraisals, event reports… you know the rest."

"Understood. I will retrieve those immediately." Hibiki gives a slight bow and leaves the office.

Even with his clear head Hibiki cannot make sense of the order he was just given. Looking at obscure files is not going to make their current work any easier. Moreover there is simply no point in checking the history of that division. Ever since Jin deserted his post the 4th squadron is more or less defunct; most of its members have already been transferred to other divisions. His current order appears to serve no purpose, unless…

With a sigh, Hibiki heads to the NOL archives in the basement. He swears to give Kagura a well-deserved lecture if this turns out to be his twisted way of stalking Noel.

* * *

Truth is, Kagura is indeed trying to dig up Noel's history. For once not to satisfy his desire for women, however.

Kagura's plan to take down the Imperator is very complex, requiring the work and actions of many people. Some he can trust, some less so. The current plan involves the most individuals that he can place his trust upon, which lowers the margin of error. Still, there are way too many ways for his plan to fall apart. One particular issue is his allies failing to get along for the greater goal. Having strong allies is one thing, having a strong team is another. Ragna and Jin stand out as a shining example. Kagura had spent countless hours simmering them down whenever they start crossing swords. Oh well, as if he doesn't have enough shit on his hands.

Still, there must be some way to ease the tension. After pondering for hours and wasting a chance to enjoy his liquors, Kagura seems to find a promising opening - Jin Kisaragi and Noel Vermillion. Two indispensable players on his team.

From what Kagura knows, Jin seems to have a one-sided grudge against Noel ever since they met. To put it mildly, he treated her like trash all this time. Upon careful inspection, Kagura noticed that Jin's attitude (or more appropriately, his killing intent) towards Noel varied quite a bit over time. Jin mostly neglected Noel during the academy days, which is very mild comparing with the time when they worked together in the 4th Squadron. Rumors have it that Jin tried to off her for more than a few times then. At the moment Jin seems to revert back to his indifferent attitude, as observed by Kagura himself in the past week.

So what is the problem with those two? Kokonoe had told him that the problem may lie in Yukianesa's interference. Plausible, but not a good enough explanation, as Jin has already overcome the mind control of his Nox Nyctores.

After sifting through all possibilities, Kagura decided that something, probably unpleasant, must have happened during the time Jin and Noel served in the 4th Squadron. This would explain the peak of Jin's hatred, as well as the residue spite after Jin gained control over Yukianesa. If something like that happened, there must be traces left in the internal records, which is why he ordered Hibiki on his errand.

Kagura feels certain that it would be worthwhile to dig into this missing link. There is no way to solve a problem without understanding it first. Even if he can't find anything related, he can probably still dig up some secrets about Jin and Noel. These would be the perfect materials to get to Makoto; she would be dying to know about these gossips. In return he can bargain for a date with her in the city, or maybe some nice gropes? The possibilities are endless indeed.

Yes… This is a perfect plan no matter how Kagura turns it over in his mind. For the time being he will leave the more important matters to Hibiki, as usual.


	2. Chapter 1 - Realization

**Synchronicity - The meaningful relation of events that are not tied by causality. In other words, a meaningful coincidence. An original idea first suggested by Carl Jung in the 1920s.**

* * *

It was a usual morning in the 4th Squadron of the NOL. Lots of boring reports to read through, piles of documents to sign and approve, and the occasional meetings that serve no purpose at all. Nothing out of the ordinary, really.

Or so Jin Kisaragi thought when his alarm at the bedside went off at 7:30 in the morning.

No no no… There are so many mistakes in the above sentence that I don't believe I just made.

The first thing is the alarm clock. Jin snapped open his eyes at the very moment the alarm went off. Not because he is a light sleeper, however. It was the melody that startled him. Jin has always used the alarm that came with his dormitory, which is the standard issue of the NOL. That alarm beeps like, well, the usual alarm clocks – four beeps, pause, another four beeps, rinse and repeat. This alarm that woke Jin was nothing close to that. It was, as Jin faintly recalled, some sort of pop song that he once heard during his time in the academy.

Jin quickly realized that something was seriously wrong. Really obvious actually, since if he didn't know his humble alarm to be capable of such feats, he never could have set it himself.

Was it some kind of prank? Impossible, as only Jin has the authority to use the ars that activates the door of his dorm. A breach in security? Maybe, but no serious intruder would break in his room just to swap his alarm clock. They must be after something else in his room…right?

With that question in his mind, Jin decided to get up from his bed and examine his room for any evidence of a break-in. He promptly sat up…

…Only for him to realize how fucked up he is.

Within a split second Jin was overwhelmed by his surroundings. It was not his room at all.

Apparently, someone has moved him here while he was asleep last night. But was that even possible? That person must be insanely powerful to avert all those protective ars set up around the whole NOL branch. Why such person was after him then? There was so much more stuff in the branch that is more valuable than his life, really. The situation made less sense the more Jin thought about it.

It was no good sitting in bed, at any rate. Jin swiftly slid himself out of the bed. Suddenly, a weird sensation sent shivers down his spine.

The feeling of something silky sticking to the back of his neck.

It was hair, all right. Jin calmed down a bit. But how come he grew his hair so long in one night? He was not aware of any ars that can be used for growing hair. Again it made no freaking sense.

Something else also felt awkward. In fact, there was so much contradicting information reaching his brain at once that Jin cannot fully understand every bit of it. He felt somewhat lighter, somewhat shorter and somewhat slimmer. His muscles and tendons also didn't work to the same extent as he remembered. Balancing is also a bit off, but he got over it rather quickly. In short, he didn't feel like himself at all.

For a while Jin was stuck in his tracks, dazzled by the whole situation. Nothing since his alarm rang made any sense. (Sorry, not his alarm actually, as Jin would later find out.) There was indeed something strange and inexplicable going on, something that was out of his understanding of the world. For the first time in years, an uncontrollable surge of fear rose within the Hero of Ikaruga.

Jin tried to regain his focus by studying the room he was in. A desk, with a portable terminal and a few sheets of paper on it. A couple of crumpled paper balls were there too. Wardrobes, a simple table set, and a shelf with a few books scattered around disorderly. And a doorway that presumably leads to a bathroom. That's it. Nothing struck him as threatening or standing out in particular.

The setting of the room, however, was familiar to him. The standard dormitory for middle-ranked officers of the NOL. That was a relief, being the very first thing he can fully comprehend. He was confident that he was inside an NOL facility, which was further proved by the familiar blue one-piece dress uniform haphazardly laid on the chair.

A dress… Huh?

Something Jin overlooked all along - his sense of smell – suddenly became salient. Maybe he got used to it so he didn't notice before, but the dress reminded him of it. In fact, the whole room was filled with the scent of women. The same goes for the pajamas with panda images that he had on himself. Hell, even he himself smelt like women. The scent was somewhat familiar, but Jin can't recall it properly.

With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Jin rushed to the mirror in the bathroom. He froze.

What. The. Fuck.

It made no fucking sense. But then, everything else started to totally make sense…

…Noel Vermillion stared back from the mirror.

At around 8 in a seemingly ordinary morning, a shrill cry pierced through the walls in the female dormitory of the 4th Squadron.

* * *

Beep beep beep beep – beep beep beep beep…

A trembling hand reached up from under the blankets and felt around for the annoying alarm. The hand reached it in short order, and promptly casted a muting ars on the evil object which just disturbed her sleep.

The ability to cast a muting ars when half-asleep was commonplace ever since the invention of ars magus – or so Noel Vermillion thought.

In a matter of seconds, Noel drifted back to sleep. Even though Jin would scold and insult her harshly if she turned up late at work, she wasn't worried about it one single bit. With one alarm silenced, another one would ring in about 15 minutes from the far corner of her room. She would eventually have to get up to turn it off. In the worst case, that unbelievably loud alarm would disturb her fellow officers in the rooms nearby and someone was bound to bang on her door, scolding her for it. In one way or another, she would be awake by 8:30, leaving her with ample time for breakfast and gearing up for work.

Unfortunately, nothing like that happened today. By the time Noel opened her eyes again, the room was eerily silent. Cursing her malfunctioning alarm, she got up in a panic, being sure that she was already late. To her surprise however, the clock on the wall said it was only 8:15. Noel was still too sleepy to fully understand this irregularity. To her, anything was fine as long as she wasn't late.

In order to make good use of the extra time and to freshen herself up, she started up her portable terminal. Better go online and check the delivery status of that pretty skirt she just bought last weekend. Without hesitation, Noel typed her password and hit 'Enter'… only for an error message to pop up, along with an unpleasant ping that startled her. Oh well, her fingers must have slipped. She tried again, more carefully this time… only to be rejected by the machine once more.

Puzzled, Noel decided to try again later, after she shook off the drowsiness. She trod wearily to the bathroom to wash and dress up. She threw some water on her face and looked up in the mirror.

"Major Kisaragi?! Why… I…? Hmm… ehehe…" Noel found herself at a loss for words. Among all sorts of absurd things Jin did to her, finding her superior inside a mirror is certainly not one of them. Jin looked as surprised as she was, though. For some reason Noel found his expression to be rather amusing, and couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. The Jin in the mirror followed suit, trying his best to squeeze his lips shut.

While not being the brightest person around, Noel can still see that she has somehow become Jin. Her appearance, her body and her voice were all undoubtedly Jin's.

"Gosh… What a silly dream…" Noel found her way back to the bed and flopped back into it. She had no idea why she would dream of something so ridiculous. And to see Jin with such a funny look! She will definitely share this interesting dream with Tsubaki and Makoto later. Anyways, better wake up from this dream and get back to reality, where she had work to do under the Jin who never made funny faces.

Tried as she might, Noel couldn't get back to 'sleep'. After a long while, she started to feel a sense of fullness in her bladder and the lower body. She started to feel a bit uneasy; if this dream doesn't end now, she is bound to wet her bed! She tried squeezing her legs together, but that didn't make her feel any better. After some more twisting and rolling on the bed, Noel couldn't take it any longer. She squeezed her eyes shut, mentally preparing for the pain, and banged her head heavily on the wall.

"Owowow… That hurts…" It was no good. She still had Jin's voice. So this isn't a dream after all? Unable to grasp the reality that she was forced into, Noel felt her consciousness leave her body, leaving nothing behind but dread and panic. At any rate she still got a full bladder to take care of, which had somehow got fuller than she thought to be possible.

At last she can stand it no more. With a lump in her throat - and a literal one between her legs - Noel rushed to the toilet. Seconds earlier she was still thinking about stupid questions like 'how do men pee in toilets' and 'how does a man's member work', but in the face of the crisis all these were flung away from her mind.

"I can't see anything!" She squeezed her eyes shut and tore down her pants. Drops of tears began to form at the corner of her eyes.

* * *

Noel found herself back in bed. She couldn't recall what just happened earlier. Not a single thing. Yes, her mind must have already pushed that unusual and unpleasant experience into the unconscious.

…That was what she would like to believe.

Of course she clearly remembered. Her mind was short-circuited, being filled with questions that she didn't want to admit to have. 'Was that the standard size for a man?', 'How should I face Jin, now that I have seen and used his member?', and ''Maybe I should stand up when I pee next time, like men do in toilets?', just to name a few. Whatever thoughts she began to have, something grew bigger in her nether regions. Now that was not a good trend. She really should stop those thoughts. Breathe in, let it out… calm down…

The time had already passed 9 in the morning. She really was late for work. Although it sounded alright for her, now as Major Kisaragi, to show up late, she thought it would be better to follow the example set by Jin. Moreover, she was sure that nothing can help her to return to her former body if she kept staying in the room. After a brief search, Noel fetched a set of uniform from the wardrobes, as well as Jin's communication portal from a shelf. She activated it as she tried to get into the tight uniform.

Soon afterwards, hundreds of message ars began to pile out from the portal. All from Noel Vermillion.

So… that's what happened? The same happened to Major Kisaragi… Noel quickly called back.

Not a single second passed before Jin picked up his portal. "Dammit! Do you know what time it is already, you bitch?" Noel was blown away by the intensity and ferocity of the voice, her own voice. She never knew she could sound so intimidating.

"Sorry, Major… I…" On instinct Noel apologized. However she was also relieved. Major Kisaragi was still there, albeit now in her body. So it was as she had suspected, she had swapped bodies with Jin. And the thought that someone else shared her misfortune was kind of comforting.

"So… Do you understand the situation we are in? Lieutenant Vermillion?" The menacing voice that used to belong to Noel said.

"Y-Yes… Somewhat, I suppose. So are you feeling alright, Major?"

A few seconds passed in silence.

"Hmph. I feel awful. Never felt so bad before in my life. Just… shameful."

Her body wasn't that bad now, was it? Wait… her body…! Noel gasped at the realization that Jin must have also gone through the same routine she just did. She blushed fervently and once again felt her crotch swelling. No, no, she must not let her thoughts wander that way again! Not now, anyways.

"So… Major?"

"What."

"Now what should we do? Maybe Major you can come over?"

"I don't have the authority to access the dormitory of high-ranking officers."

"Then… I will come over?"

"You really are dumb, scum. You want to come to a female dorm with my body? Are you fucking serious?"

Noel took the insult, as always. She had to admit that she really didn't think it through, though.

"Come to my office. I will join you there. Make sure that you play your part well when you are on the way. Else you would never be forgiven!"

"Yes sir… So please play your part too, Major." It seemed to be a good start of events…

"…Why?" Noel was taken aback by Jin's response.

"Umm… Because how others see me is important for me as well…"

"I refuse. Your concern is not important to me at all. Why should I lower my standards to the likes of you? And who do you think you are to order me around?"

"I… umm…I mean we should work together at such time-"

"That's all, Lieutenant. I will see you in the office." Jin abruptly cut the connection.

With a sigh, Noel put down the communication portal. Silently she prayed for this ordeal to be over as soon as possible. She was afraid that she may not live to see the end of it.


	3. Chapter 2 - Rendezvous

Noel found herself alone in front of the door to Jin's office. Seeing not a soul around, she let out a sigh of relief.

After the terrible threats from Jin, Noel was honestly shaken to the core. She was sure that everyone would notice her impersonation immediately. Even as Jin's personal secretary, there was simply too much details that she didn't know about him. For a start, she had no idea which path he usually take to get to his office each day. She got the wrong way a bunch of times, and each time she had to take out the communication portal, pretend to receive a message, and turn right back like an idiot. If someone caught her walking around like a headless chicken, she would be busted on the spot.

Another thing that worried Noel was her appearance. While she had Jin's uniform on, there was nothing that she can do about facial expressions and postures. When she looked at the mirror, she felt that her eyes – Jin's eyes – were larger than they used to be. When she tried to replicate Jin's usual frown, it just looked unnatural to her. Also, no matter how she tried to stand up straight, it felt somewhat less imposing than what she used to see in Jin.

Even with all the flaws that Noel was aware of, she somehow got to the destination without any major incident. No one seemed to bat an eye about her actions. Maybe luck was on her side, or maybe everyone in the 4th Squadron was just too scared of Major Kisaragi to look at him in the eyes. All's well that ends well, she supposed.

It was way too early to hope for an end to this baffling ordeal, however. Noel knocked on the door to Jin's office.

No response.

There was never a single time that Noel was earlier than Jin in the office. So naturally, Noel knocked once again, louder this time.

"Hello? Open up, Major. It's me."

Before Noel could respond, a hand clasped itself over her mouth and her arms were restrained behind her back. Surprised by the sudden action, she let out a stifled scream, which only got the hand on her mouth to squeeze harder in response. A soft chant was heard, and then before she knew it she was shoved into Jin's office. She stumbled as she lost her balance, and promptly fell flat on the floor. The door banged shut behind her and another chant was heard, casting a sealing ars on the door. Noel turned to face her assailant, who was, unsurprisingly, herself.

"You trash! You seriously can't do anything right!"

"I'm sorry! But I don't … um…" Noel once again gave her automatic apology before thinking. But then, she was stunned to see herself look so different. Not that her appearance was much different; Jin still put on her usual uniform. It was instead the character that radiated from the body. So powerful and full of confidence. Noel had no idea that it would look so cool, and she looked so much more charming and beautiful that way. What did Jin do to her body to achieve such perfection? For one moment she was mesmerized, but soon her head drooped back down in shame, as she realized how Jin beat her in, of all things on Earth, being an attractive woman even with no prior experience.

"Hmph. Knocking on the door to your own office. Check. Asking your own self for permission to enter and loudly contradicting your supposed identity. Double check. You really are an idiot!"

It actually made a lot of sense in hindsight. Noel had nothing in her defense.

"S-Sorry. But I don't know you aren't in here…"

"Even then you should have used your portal to contact me! Shall I demonstrate how to use it?" Jin said in a taunting voice.

"No… Major."

"With your intelligence I suppose I should have expected as much." Looking irritated, Jin bit his lips. "So, tell me where else went wrong on your way here."

"Nothing, sir." For once, Noel was confident of herself. "No one was suspicious of my actions this morning."

"That or you failed to notice their suspicions." Jin was still not convinced, probably because he just got a first-hand experience in how poorly Noel handled her new identity.

"So… Major? How come you arrived later than I did?"

"…That's none of your business."

It was not noticeable for most people, but after spending so much time with Jin, Noel was able to pick up the slight pause before Jin's answer just then.

"So it was the makeup and outfit… Or maybe you got lost on your way here? I can show you how-"

"Shut up." Jin turned around hurriedly, picking up some parchment from the bottom drawer of his desk.

"And was there any trouble-"

"I said shut up, Lieutenant!" Jin gave Noel a harsh stare. He then sat down behind his working desk and started writing something on the parchments.

Noel, left with nothing to do, took a seat opposite to Jin and watched him write up the official document. Her body looked kind of small behind the huge desk. It goes without saying that she had never dared to sit in Jin's seat herself, which makes the scene look like something from her warped daydreams… Major Vermillion, the kind, charming and beloved commander of the 4th Squadron, was busy preparing documents for a special meeting with her subordinate, Lieutenant Kisaragi. A spotless white feather, with her tender fingers softly curled around it, ran gracefully on the surface of the parchment, effortlessly dragging a trail of black ink behind it. In no time the smart and efficient Major Vermillion finished her document, and stamped her seal at the very last line of her elegant writing. She closed her radiant eyes for a few seconds and held out her delicate hand. A soothing chant escaped her soft lips, which carried an ars to verify her identity… and it failed. Wait, what?

Noel snapped back to reality. Jin was surprised as well. He tried to cast his identifying ars once more, but to no avail.

"Hey you. Try casting your own identifying ars." Noel treid as Jin suggested, but she failed as well.

"Tch. How annoying." It seemed that both of them are unable to cast their personal ars properly in this state. Maybe the ars can't recognize the caster since their mind and body didn't match? Jin swept away the parchment he worked on a minute ago and held his hands on his forehead, seemingly working on a way to get around this inconvenience.

Noel straightened herself and peeked at the parchment that Jin just wrote on. It seemed that Jin, as Major Kisaragi, tried to grant Lieutenant Vermillion the full rights and authority of a major for the time being. That failed, however, as he can't authorize it without attaching his identity ars.

"That's bad. I-I mean, we can't do much official work without that ars, right?"

"Apparently."

"So… What now?"

"I intended to lock you in my office while I try to find a way to switch back our minds. You know what an obstacle you are. That can't work without that authorization, as you should have noticed. So I suppose we should first go check on the grimoire archive in the branch. No point in bringing in others at this point. After all, it is kind of insulting to me. I suppose we can try some ars as well if we are able to find references in the archive…"

Noel tried to take Jin's words in. Her mind started drifting away however, as he went on with his explanations. Upon closer inspection, she can't help but notice the small differences between her old self and this Noel Vermillion in front of her. There is her beret, which Jin pushed to the left side instead of her usual right…

"… Then there may be special grimoires that may help returning us to normal. Of course, even that can prove difficult since locating such obscure grimoires can take up to weeks…"

… and her stockings as well, which Jin forgot to fold outwards at the end. Her gaze wandered back and forth, trying to find out other details that Jin missed. Wait, what's with her…

"… Are you paying attention, scum?!"

Normally Noel would be apologizing now. But that didn't happen since she had an issue way more important to deal with.

Noel, in a flash, grabbed Jin and pulled him closer. Before he could spill profanities from his mouth, she drove her hands under the uniform from under Jin's armpit. In an instant, the blood drained from her face.

"What do you think you are-"

"I knew it! Why didn't you put on a bra before going out? That's… so embarrassing!" Noel was close to tears.

"All I can find were ones with straps. You really should have organized your room better. Now shut up and forget about it."

"No! I mean it's just like you don't want to be seen without your pants on… Wait, you are wearing pants now, right?"

"It's a totally different matter. Given your size, it is not like there is much difference anyways."

"…Y-You are so mean… sniff…" Noel started sobbing. "I am not flat-chested! You saw it for yourself this morning didn't you… sniff… I mean you had felt them, right?"

"… Hmph. Let's end this conversation, Lieutenant." Jin said as he turned away from her.

"Wait!" Suddenly Noel remembered something seemingly very important. "I have a spare bra in the closet! I am bringing it over here!"

Without further ado, she rushed out of the office. Jin tried stopping this nonsense at once, but he failed to catch her in time. Anyhow, he supposed he don't understand women very well. Not that it is his fault, but still. The reason wnceght of stopping this nonsense, but he failed to h difference to me. . hy Noel kept a spare bra at her workplace was beyond him, though.

In a minute, Noel returned with the strapless bra in her hands. Jin couldn't help but hit himself hard with a facepalm.

"Why the fuck didn't you put that into a bag or something?!" He exploded.

"…Eh?"

"What would everyone think if a man holds a bra in his hands? And what would people think if they see me carry that? You fucking moron!" Noel gasped at Jin's words. In the heat of the moment she had completely forgotten that she was Major Kisaragi to everyone else.

"Sorry about my mistake, Major. So, can you put this on now?"

"No! If you are not respecting my image, I am not respecting yours either!"

Noel was not about to back down however. With Jin's body she was at a physical advantage, which she put to use, trying to restrain his hands and slip the bra in place. Jin resisted all he could, but he was definitely losing without his usual physique.

Ironically, if anyone had witnessed this, it was Jin who was acting out of character. Noel would never have resisted if Jin tried to do the same thing on her. Not under any circumstances would Jin try forcing her to wear a bra, though.

The two wrestled and tumbled for a long while, until they were interrupted by a third voice.

"Major Kisaragi? I have come to report –" With a file in hand, a female officer pushed open the door, left unlocked when Noel came in earlier, and gasped at the unbelievable scene in front of her.

Noel and Jin both turned their head at the intruder with their eyes widened, surprised at the unexpected turn of events. All three were left in an awkward silence as no one found the right words for the situation.

It was Jin who first recovered from the shock. Noticing the compromising position they were in, he quickly swatted Noel's hand away, which was right on his chest, and removed himself from Noel's grasp. He struggled to find an excuse, but his mind was totally blank.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, the officer realized that she was disturbing something private between the Major and his secretary. So she hastily turned around and broke the silence.

"S-Sorry for the intrusion, M-Major. I-I… I would be going now, if that's alright with you…"

"…Ouch…Uh. O-Okay. P-Please take your leave." Noel stuttered after Jin pinched her out from her trance.

The officer briskly strode out from the office, leaving the two alone once again.

Neither of them spoke a word in what seemed like an eternity.

* * *

After a long morning, the time was finally half past noon. Lunch hour in the NOL was no different to that of civilian companies. Soldiers and officers of the 4th Squadron, after finishing their duties, flocked into the cafeteria in the NOL branch. It doesn't serve the greatest food around, but it at least is a convenient spot for gatherings after a morning's work.

"Impossible, ma'am." A sergeant burst out laughing amongst the many soldiers. "You gotta try harder if you want to fool me!" A couple more soldiers next to him also sniggered.

"It's true! I have burnt every single detail into my eyes!" A female lieutenant opposite to him exclaimed. She had a different uniform from the soldiers, showing that she was a clerical officer in the Squadron.

"Ahahaha! Then I am sure you are seeing things! Not in a chance would they get together."

"Yeah! It sounds more like he tried to force it on her!" Another soldier commented.

"Hey guys! What's with the hassle?" A captain sat down next to the lieutenant, putting down his meal tray as he did so.

"Aye, captain. Lieutenant Forsythe there just told us a funny joke!" The sergeant gestured at the female officer.

"It's not a joke, Dave! I swear it's true!"

"Hey, why don't you tell me the tale too, Heather?"

"Fine, captain. So this morning I received an order from headquarters about a joint-unit training exercise. I forwarded it to Lieutenant Vermillion and asked her to inform the Major, but she didn't send a reply. I went over to her desk and found her missing. And so I went directly to the Major with the report. The door to the office was ajar, so I pushed it open and went in directly. Just guess what I saw inside! Major Kisaragi and Lieutenant Vermillion, tightly locked in an embrace!"

"Fucking impossible, huh captain?"

"Stop interrupting me, Dave! I'm sure it is romantic in nature. The Major was grabbing her breasts when I came in! And she wrapped her legs around the Major too! It's a pity you can't see their flushed faces."

"Wow that's really something, Heather." The captain took a swig from his bottle of juice. "But I'm not so sure about the part of the half-closed door. The Major would not be so careless if he want some sexy time, don't ya think?"

"W-Well, that's true. But…!"

"Don't get so worked up. Not saying you're lying or something. I actually saw both of them this morning too."

Now that got the attention of the Sergeant and the other soldiers.

"It's nothing close to what Lieutenant Forsythe saw though. I was walking down the aisle outside the commander's office, when I saw Lieutenant Vermillion hugging the Major from behind. Very soon they went into his office, and the door was locked. I found that kinda odd too, but I suppose that matches your story pretty well, Heather."

Lieutenant Forsythe gave a victorious smile, while the soldiers were left speechless.

"Anyway, we don't have solid proof." The captain added while he continued his meal. "On the safe side though, let's not mess with Lieutenant Vermillion. Man, who knows what she would tell the Major if we do."

While the officers and soldiers were busy in their gossips, someone was listening deliberately from across the bench. This man was obviously not from the 4th Squadron, as anyone can tell from his jet black uniform.

"Now this is some interesting possibility…" The man murmured as he cracked another hard-boiled egg.


	4. Chapter 3 - Endeavors

It was undoubtedly the worst day in Jin's life.

Sure, he loathed his boring daily life and thought it was hell, but this is totally another level of hell for him.

Normally he could kick Noel Vermillion, his ever obstacle and eyesore, away from his office. Actually that had become part of his routine life which he came to hate, but then at least he can get rid of her. Now he is stuck inside her and can't withdraw himself from her body.

…Wait. That came out rather wrong.

Anyways, thinking along the positive lines, this day can't get any worse as it had already hit the hard bottom. He really should focus on finding the solution right now. He can always kill Noel later, to get rid of her forever and to prevent this from happening again.

"Hello there Major Kisaragi. What brings you here today?"

Jin almost answered on instinct. Luckily he bolted his mouth shut just in time.

"Greetings. Nothing much really. Just looking for grimores that can possibly explain a recent incident."

"No problem. Feel free to ask if you need help, sir." The guard at the entrance of the ars magus archives moved away from Major Kisaragi and turned his head to the girl behind him.

"As for you, lieutenant, I assume you know your authority is not high enough to enter?"

"I am here to help Major Kisaragi in his search." Jin said, barely suppressing the annoyance in his voice.

"Yes that's right." Noel turned to the guard as well. "I have already got the permission from your superior. My secretary is very capable and I need her to assist me in there."

Jin felt his eyebrow twitch. That last sentence really offended him.

"Alright then. Go on in."

Their bluff worked as expected. Still, Jin was fuming about the insult he had to go through. He silently wondered how much more he can take without exploding in anguish.

* * *

Noel gasped at the magnificent sight in front of her.

At the very center of the facility stood a huge machine, which probably is the terminal storing all the information about the artifacts. From the podium where she stood at, Noel can see that the central terminal is at least four levels tall. Endless lines of shelves stood on its sides, each fully filled with enchanted books about different types of ars. Beyond the rows of bookshelves were elevators that lead deeper into the storage facilities for grimores of various functions and capabilities. If not for Jin constantly nudging her on, Noel would be just standing there and staring in awe. This was her first time in the NOL's grand archive after all. Now it made sense to her why lower ranking officers were banned from entering the vast knowledge archive.

"So, Major?" Noel whispered. "Do we start with the terminal?"

"But of course."

Jin approached one of the displays on the towering terminal and grabbed a chair with him. Noel followed suit hurriedly. Using the terminal seemed simple, as she observed Jin key in words like 'mind', 'body' and 'switch' into the search form. Soon it returned a long list of results. With a click, a guiding ars, in the form of a glowing sphere, floated down from the top of the machine and started revolving in front of him. Jin started to follow it, but then he stopped and glared at Noel.

"You stay here, scum. Getting you lost here is the last thing I want to happen."

"Alright. Umm… Thanks?"

Noel watched as Jin shook his head and went on his way. Well, now that she was alone, Noel decided to do some research on her own. Hopefully she can help speed up the search that way.

But that would have to wait after she finishes searching something that is way more important for her.

* * *

"So… What do we have here? It's kinda heavy…"

After an hour of searching, Jin and Noel were each carrying a box of artifacts back to the office. Noel can see that most of them were scrolls with specific spells, but she had no idea about what they do.

"Keep moving. You'll find out soon enough."

Jin was not very observant when it comes to people, but on his way back from the archive he noticed a few officers looking at them funny. Some were even half-covering their smirks. Was there something on his face? Probably not, as no one batted an eye back in the archive. He casted a glance at Noel, but he didn't see anything wrong either. Was it just his imagination then?

Soon, the two were back in the commander's office. This time, Jin personally checked the door, making sure it was properly locked.

"Hmm… Where do we start?"

"Sit there and don't touch anything. I will try some simpler ars first." Jin promptly picked up a stack of scrolls from his box. "These copies are all set to temporary, and their effects would wear off in minutes. If it works as intended, we will go borrow the real one from the archive."

"Alright, Major. Let's get started, shall we?" Noel was really impressed by Jin's sensible plan. It had to be hard to put together a plan in the face of such circumstances. If only she can have such a bright mind…

"This is called… the ars of thought exchange. Sounds promising." Jin randomly picked one from the stack. He started to chant, following the words written on the scroll.

A flash of light spewed from the scroll, blinding both Jin and Noel. Jin tried shielding his eyes with his hand, but the light was still bright enough to strip away his vision.

After the shock had ebbed away, he slowly lifted his hand…

…to the sight of himself squirming in a chair.

"... Hmph. That didn't work." He knew as he still sounded like Noel Vermillion. Just to confirm, he reached behind his neck. As expected, the feeling of the locks of long hair sliding between his fingers was the same as before, as he always had since graduating from the academy. Yep. Definitely not working.

…Huh? Something is wrong. Why did he remember having long hair before today?

Jin tried to dig deeper into his memory. He had such memories! He remembered everything that happened to him since his adoption five years ago. That time when he got lost in the woods and suddenly summoned his weapons, that heartwarming moment he shared with his friends after falling into a pit in the academy, and all those poems he wrote over the years…

Nope. Jin never wrote shit. Those were all memories of Noel. But since he was still aware of his true identity, it appeared that both of their memories were fused together by the ars.

Jin tried to focus and block the influx of Noel's memory, but failed miserably. Fragments of her past kept flashing through his head one by one. It was like being strapped to a chair in a movie theater. There was no escape to this torrent of memories.

Noel, who had just got up from her chair with a hand to her forehead, seemed to take it a bit better than him.

"Ouch… So those were your memories, Major? What happened?" She said as she staggered over to him.

Suddenly Jin's eyes shot open. He gasped loudly.

"Major? Are you alrigh – Oh! Y-Your nose is bleeding!" Noel quickly grabbed a box of tissue paper and, seeing Jin stuck in a trance, hesitantly wiped the blood from his nose. It didn't look good at all. His nose was like a blood sprinkler.

Jin quickly recovered in a moment. "I-I am alright, Lieutenant." He took the tissue from Noel, while letting out a breath he didn't notice he was holding.

"What was it, Major?"

"Haah… I just… just never expected to see that. Why did you girls take baths together in the academy?"

It took Noel a full second to fully understand the implications. "So… you saw all of us… like naked in the bath?!"

"… Yes." Jin felt his face glowing red.

"That's… bad! W-Why did you look?" Noel was as red as Jin had become.

"Not that I wanted to look! You looked! Just why did you stare at others' boobs so much? And your memories just rushed into my mind by itself! I can't help it!"

"Huh?! W-What else did you see in my memories?"

"Everything… Every damn thing…"

Noel covered her mouth in disbelief. "S-So you know everything? Like even my secrets?"

"Yeah. I suppose. If you call your poems your secrets, that is."

Poems were one thing that Noel can still barely accept being seen. Jin saw her cat poem when they first meet, after all. But did he also know all her thoughts and feelings? Could he really understand all that in such a short time? Noel found herself at a loss of words. Maybe now Jin even knew –

"Well, let's wait for the ars to wear off. This stupid ars seems to be designed for overly attached girlfriends and boyfriends. Anyways I will pretend to know nothing about what I have just seen. Do you think you can do that as well, Lieutenant?" Jin stared coldly at Noel.

"Uh? Oh… Ummm… Yeah. I'm fine with that…" Noel was still recovering from the revelation.

As Jin returned to the stack for another ars, Noel slowly got back to her seat. No point in pondering at that, she told herself. It's not like she can go upfront and ask him about her own secrets anyway. She quickly shook off the intruding thoughts. At any rate, since now Jin had pried into her secrets, she really should get back at him by looking at his past! Noel smiled and concentrated on recalling Jin's past, now making up part of her mind as well.

It was a serene and peaceful countryside. There she was, playing happily with her brother Ragna and little sister Saya in front of a church. Her attention was fixed on this Saya girl. She looked… almost the same as Noel herself? Was that a coincidence? Every aspect of Saya reminds Noel of herself. Her looks, her voice, her personality… Everything.

Well, except her cooking. Noel was confident that she cooks way better than Saya.

Noel was kind of sad after looking through the memories of Jin. He had to go through so much at such a young age. Losing his family, pressured to perform well in the Kisaragi family and as the student council president… And that's just the tip of the iceberg. She would never see him in the same way again.

As for Noel herself, Jin's hatred towards her seems to come from his emotions towards Saya. This was in turn amplified by Yukianesa, resulting in his rage. A pretty lame excuse to be mad at her, but he really can't help it. Noel sighed and hoped one day he can treat her better. Maybe better than just colleagues too?

As for his secrets... There was no memory of him dating anyone in the past. Not even Tsubaki. How disappointing. On that matter, Noel wasn't sure whether he loved Tsubaki in a romantic way, even after peeping into his deepest emotions. Jin himself didn't know better either, she supposed. Sadly there were no remarkable bath scenes in his memories either. Well, maybe that's because he didn't stare at other boys' lower parts when taking baths, unlike herself who can't resist staring at bosoms that are larger than hers. Anyways that only proved that Jin wasn't a homosexual. So there's nothing really conclusive, what a letdown.

Soon, Jin's memories faded away. The effect of the ars was over.

* * *

"Just come over and look at this, will ya?"

It was a stuffy room filled with the smell of metal and grease. Hazama once wondered why anyone would be comfortable working in such a shittly place, but he never bothered to ask. That was not his business anyway and he wouldn't be staying longer than needed.

"What business do you have here, Hazama?" A caped figure slowly made his way across the dimly lit workshop.

"Look at what I found out just then, Relius." The green-haired man brought out a hologram projector and set it on a small coffee table in front of him. "Even I am surprised that such possibility exists!"

The projector flickered to life at Hazama's tap. Relius took a seat opposite to Hazama and glanced at the hologram. The focus was on two figures, clad in Librarium uniforms, meeting up in what seems to be an NOL office. Judging from the filming angle and the low quality of the video, it was apparently taken secretly from outside the window by Hazama or his lackeys in the Intelligence Department.

The two figures soon started getting closer and the woman grabbed the man's hands. The male officer looked kind of surprised and his face started to turn red. Those two were certainly talking about something, but Hazama's hologram seemingly lacked the audio track. Typical of him to miss the important parts, really. Then it was again the girl who took the next step. She hugged the man and they both fell onto the couch. Well that escalated rather quickly.

"Okay, Hazama." Relius stood up from the chair. "I really have more important matters to attend to. You can show your homemade porn to somebody else."

"What? Porn?" Hazama chuckled. "Close enough, I guess. But man, you really think I came all the way over just to show you some porn? Do I look like that sort of sicko?"

"But you do seem like a sicko…" Relius grumbled.

"C'mon. Take a closer look, alright? Do you see who they are?"

Relius leaned in closer to the hologram. Now that he examined the figures in more detail, the girl seemed to be…

"…The 12th Prime Field Device. Intriguing…"

"Well, well, well! Finally get the point, huh?" Hazama grinned. "And mind you, the man of the day here is Major Jin Kisaragi!"

"To think that such a specimen to be capable of romantic love… Hmm… That's interesting. I still have much to learn, it seems."

"Man, honestly I don't care about that. All I know is how this footage can help further my future plans! Hyahahaha!"

* * *

"Hmm… M-Major? Do you mind, like, getting off me now?"

Noel was starting to get really nervous. She never found herself being so intimate with a man before. Well, that was not exactly the case, since it was a girl lying on top of her. But then she was the man… Better not think too hard on it, she decided.

"…Wha…" While the effect of the ars had ended, Jin was too astonished by what just happened to respond properly.

"Major? You alright?"

"…What was that? I mean, what's that ars we just used, Lieutenant?"

"It reads… 'Ars of contrasting minds, Major."

Jin got up in disgust. Fuck that. Another sucky ars that failed him. This retarded ars must have flipped his intense hate towards Noel into intense love. The mere thought of that was enough to give him the shivers, let alone the actual experience. Luckily that only lasted a short while, or else…

He scowled and got himself another scroll. Inwardly he admitted how naïve he had been. Things can and will get worse even after the shit has hit the fan. This would be a long and probably humiliating afternoon.

* * *

**A/N: Added 'drama' into genre, since this story is a bit too long to be just a joke.**


	5. Chapter 4 - Exodus

Noel rolled over in bed and yawned. She had nothing to do at the moment. Normally she can read a novel, go online to buy some accessories, or cook up something with her superb culinary skills, but alas, this wasn't her room and she was struggling to find something to pass the time. She can still write poems, but then she wasn't really in the mood for it.

Talking about poems… Wait, did she leave the one she wrote yesterday on her desk? Noel buried her face into the pillow. Hopefully Jin would not notice it…

The day was a disaster for both of them. Never in their lives did they expect body swapping, some nonsense from novels and fanfics, to actually befall them. They had tried to return things back to normal, but every single ars they tried failed to reverse the curse. Some of them even gave effects that utterly embarrassed her. She did not wish to recall those awkward moments… But for the love of god just why would a 'mind compatibility ars' involve acting out all their fetishes?

"Major Kisaragi?" A sudden buzz of the doorbell startled Noel. Apparently someone was at the door. "Are you in here?"

"Yes. Just a second." Noel quickly got up to get the door. It was the guard of the dormitory. "What's the matter?"

"There is a lieutenant asking to see you outside, saying there is an urgent report. What's your orders?"

No doubt it was Jin asking for her. Maybe he found something important?

"Ah, just let her in."

"…Her? " The guard looked confused. "Hm… Was that so…?" He muttered.

Noel squinted her eyes. Maybe someone else was looking for Major Kisaragi? "Ahem. What is the name of that lieutenant?"

"It is Noel Vermillion… Wait… What's with your eye-"

"She!" Seething in anger, Noel yelled at the poor guard. "She is a girl! A fine lady! Your insolence was intolerable!" She banged her fists on the door frame and rant on for a full minute. "If I find you insulting my fair secretary again, I will personally make sure you suffer the necessary punishments! You understand!?"

The guard nodded his blood-drained face and apologized in a shaking voice.

"Now go get the lady you have left downstairs. No point in making her wait, don't you think?"

The guard got on his way hurriedly, leaving Noel panting and recovering from her outburst. She had to admit that she had overdone it a bit, but still she firmly believed those who mistake her as a boy deserves a special place in hell.

Within a minute, the fair lady appeared before Noel. Jin quickly pushed her back into the room before she could say a word. With the door firmly locked behind him, Jin shoved a file into Noel's hands.

"Huh? Airship tickets to… Ishana? Reservation for Waterfront Hotel?" Noel looked up from the documents Jin just gave her, unable to make any sense out of them.

"I am going there to look for advice to turn things normal again, and you'd better be coming along, scum. I have already applied a leave for both of us." Jin said while checking around his room, probably making sure Noel didn't mess it up.

"Then it's okay for me, I suppose…" Noel was a bit excited for this sudden trip. But to Ishana? The name did ring a bell somewhere in her head…

"Hmph. It is the magical island where the former Magic Guild was located. And before you ask, trash, I knew your brain is rather lacking in historical facts."

Noel felt a flush of embarrassment on her face. Well Jin did read everything in her mind earlier today, so that was kind of expected. Still that was no less embarrassing in any way.

"We are leaving tomorrow afternoon, if you hadn't already noticed from the tickets. So I'm here to pack up my belongings." Jin dug out a suitcase from under the bed. "And… to make sure you handle stuff properly."

Handle stuff? What was Jin referring to? Noel wondered.

"…Anyways. When can I go and pack up for the journey then?" Noel decided to ask something that mattered more to her.

"I can pack them myself." Came the reply.

"No." Noel was not about to stand down. "You have no idea what a girl needs!"

"Tch. Stop acting like you are the one in charge here! When I say I can do it, I can!"

"Like how you missed a vital piece of clothing this morning?" Noel was not about to let her body go around without undergarments anymore. "If you don't oblige… then I am sure I can override your leave application as your superior."

"You dare threaten me, you scum?" Jin's face distorted in rage. "You are going to die horribly once I get back that body…"

"I just wanted to help you pack the necessary stuff for the trip." Noel stated her stance once again.

"Tch. Fine. I suppose we still have some time for that tomorrow." Jin waved and turned his back on her. "Why the fuck am I stuck with such an annoying subordinate…" He muttered to himself as he went back to packing his stuff.

Noel was relieved that she got Jin to listen to her for once. Kind of a feat for her, really. She should avoid making him angry for a while, or he would really kill her on sight. Naturally Noel just sat quietly in the corner while Jin continued arranging his belongings.

Suddenly Jin twisted his head around to Noel. "By the way, I am staying here for the night."

"H-Huh?" Noel was shocked by the sudden reveal. "But why? And… er…"

"I think I told you I need to keep an eye on you? And I just can't stand the smell in your room. It smells like… you… damn it. How can I rest properly that way?"

Actually the same could be said of Noel, but of course she didn't dare to say that. Guess she had to sleep on the couch tonight.

* * *

Noel sighed as she slid the door shut behind her in the bathroom. Being close with Jin was unsettling enough, and now she found herself having to spend a night with him. After the two spending an hour in the room in a tense silence, Noel finally found some personal space in the bathroom. A long, hot shower should prove relaxing.

Soon, Noel undressed fully and stood in front of the mirror. As expected, a naked Jin Kisaragi was way too much for her to handle. The firm muscles, the sleek body and that… hmmm… 'big and thick fish sausage'. Noel quickly covered her eyes, trying to stop herself from getting turned on by Jin's body.

"Bad Noel! Stop it! That's totally inappropriate!" Smacking herself in the face, she said to herself.

At that instant, the bathroom door was forced open from the outside. Noel squealed and grabbed the nearest piece of clothing to cover herself.

"…What do you think you were doing?" Jin waltzed into the bathroom, bringing a chair with him.

"M-Major! How can you just barge in?" Noel peeked from behind the towel she just grabbed off a nearby rack. "I am going to take a shower… So please just-"

"I know. And that's exactly why I have to be here, idiot." Jin casually put the chair in the corner. "Go on into the shower."

"Ehhh?!' It dawned on Noel that Jin was going to watch her take a shower and she didn't take it well. "But why? I-I… That's…"

"Why are you getting so worked up? I suppose you remember that you are actually going to wash my body?" Jin leaned closer to Noel, whose eyes were still wide open from shock. "And I believe it is necessary to make sure you don't do funny things to my body."

"But still… That's just so awkward…"

"Tch. Or do you want me to get in the shower as well and do it myself?"

"H-Huh?! No! That's even worse-"

"Then I guess it is settled." Jin tore the white clothing away from Noel's hands. "By the way, this is a bathroom mat. Don't you dare wrap my body in it again."

After laying the mat on the floor, Jin sat on the chair and began reading a magazine. While he said he would be watching her every move, he knew he didn't really have to do that. The fear brought by his mere presence should be more than enough to keep her in line.

Noel, eager to put something between her naked self and Jin, fully turned on the faucet and stepped into the torrent of water. At least that felt better than standing stark-naked in the open. The water was icy to the touch, but even that couldn't cool her burning heart. The shame was too much for her to bear, leaving her mind a nonfunctional mess. To Noel, countless millenniums seemed to have passed before she can muster the strength to go on. With a trembling hand, she reached out to the bar of soap… only for it to slip out of her hands. She clumsily tried to grab it in midair but she slipped, spun around like a ballerina and fell flat on her rear.

"Argh! Shit!" Jin quickly stepped into the shower and helped her up. "Did you forget how to bathe? Stop being a klutz and hurting my body, you bitch!"

"Owww… It hurts…"

"Damn. Where does it hurt? Let me check…" Jin, without any hesitation, reached out and examined the fragile part between the legs. Noel responded with a shrill cry.

"A-Aaah! S-Stop it!"

"D-Does it hurt here?" Jin panicked.

"No… B-But you are getting me… hmm…" Noel's face was redder than a tomato.

Jin, suddenly realizing why Noel was freaking out, gasped and slowly backed away from her. "Great… Now I am all wet…" He shook his head and went back to the chair. "Just finish showering already, scum. I need to bathe too, you know."

The disturbing sexual tension hung in the air as Noel continued showering, this time without incident. Moments later, Jin got into the shower, leaving Noel out to dry her hair. Surprisingly, Jin didn't ask her to leave the bathroom.

While she had no intent to watch Jin shower, it was a perfect chance to try an artifact that can potentially change her life for the better. If it worked, she was more than willing to work and be abused under Jin for the years to come in return for this artifact…

With the artifact in hand, Noel silently stepped back into the bathroom. "Major? Can you turn around for a second?"

"Huh? What's with that excited look…" Jin stopped in his tracks as he saw the object in her hands. "…The hell is that!?"

"It's the Endowment Grimore!" Noel's eyes were sparkling. "I think I can best observe its effects here… So! Stay still for a moment, okay?"

"Endowment? What?" Jin's eyes were wide in shock as Noel activated her dream artifact. "Wait wait wait! That's not good at all!"

With a blinding flash, the grimore was activated. Noel was almost drooling from the anticipation.

"Aaaaaaaargh!" Jin screamed in agony. "Shit shit shit shit!"

"Oooooh!" Noel exploded in joy. After countless years, she finally got what she wanted – A nice pair of boobs! Her figure looked so much better with them. Now no one can call her a washing board or mistake her as a boy! "It's… It's just perfect!" She can feel the drops of tear running out from the corner of her eyes.

"Perfect my ass!" Jin yelled at the top of his voice. "It hurts like hell up here!"

"But it's so worth it, right? I know! I should take a photo!"

"Return them to normal, damn you!" Jin was busy holding up the extra weight with his hands. "There would be no flat-chested girls in the world if something like that actually works!"

"Don't worry, Major. It would return to normal in minutes." Noel was also busy taking snapshots with the portable camera on her portal.

"Wait… You got it from the archives? When did you-"

"Well I mixed it into the pile of artifacts we borrowed…" Noel beamed. "I guess I will go and borrow that real grimore…"

"Idiot. Don't even think about it." Jin snapped. "No one can stand this pain!"

"Oh really… That's too bad…"

Jin panted and shuddered under the intense pain. It was no good. His knees started to shake uncontrollably and he felt his breath slowly draining from his body. Is this… the end? The world started to tilt, but his doppelganger in front of him kept on grinning. The world was quickly engulfed by darkness, leaving himself alone with his endless despair…

* * *

Everyone in the 4th Squadron can sense danger when Major Kisaragi and his secretary entered the headquarters this morning. As always, no one had the faintest idea why the Major was sulking. Little did they know the true story, though. Jin, after passing out last night in the shower, was definitely not pleased with Noel. He was however too worn out to scold and punish her afterwards. Once again he was forced to endure until he can get back at her later.

"Morning, Major." A female officer walked up to the two. "I have sent your leave application to the HQ. You should receive the approval in a few hours."

"…G-Great." Major Kisaragi stuttered and his secretary glared at him. "Good job, Heather."

"Thanks." As the officer turned to leave, she winked at both Jin and Noel. "Enjoy your vacation together. Hehe!"

Jin and Noel exchanged a gaze. What did they just hear?

"Now, now. Don't be shy! Everyone already knew something is going on between you two!" The officer was barely suppressing a giggle. "Have a nice trip!"

Since when did people think they are an item? Speechless, the duo continued to the commander's office. Every single soldier and officer greeting them on the way wore a smirk on their face. Seriously what is going on?

All was clear when they reached the staff common room. On the notice board were a bunch of photos. Pushing through the crowd gathering around it, Jin and Noel came to a stop at the center of the spectacle.

Every photo showed Major Kisaragi and his secretary in intimate positions. There was Lieutenant Vermillion cuddling with the Major in his office, the Major caressing the cheek of his secretary, the Lieutenant clinging to the Major's arm… and there was the Major holding a naked Noel Vermillion, albeit covered with strategically placed mosaics, in his arms next to his bed in the dormitory.

"What?" Jin and Noel shouted in unison. For the umpteenth time they blushed in embarrassment. The worst part was that all those photos were not fabricated; they really did those 'intimate' acts yesterday. Not that they were doing that on purpose, but those photos were taken so masterfully that it seemed they were a young couple enjoying themselves.

"Who took those photos?!" Jin erupted and grabbed the collar of the soldier closest to him. Noel, on the other hand, was tearing down every photo as quickly as she can.

"Whoa, whoa! Chill out, Lieutenant!" The soldier waved his hands in front of him. "Someone from the Intelligence Department put those up this morning."

"And who might that be?!"

"No idea, ma'am. But he got some weird green hair."

Jin reluctantly released the hapless soldier. No point in venting his anger on him. Making a mental note to punish those who mention this shameful rumor again, he grabbed Noel's arm and pulled her away. In a cruel twist of fate, Noel, taken by surprise, lost her balance and fell forward. Jin dodged to the right, but she grabbed his hand in a desperate attempt to steady herself. As one, they tumbled together to the floor.

The world froze as their lips connected.

The crowd cheered and applauded. If anyone can die of embarrassment, Noel would be deader than a doornail by now.


	6. Chapter 5 - Paradox

A clear sky hung above the island of Ishana. Seagulls soared high in the sky, cooing as they circled above the coast. The sea was glimmering in a soft golden glow, as ripples caught and reflected the rays of the setting sun over the horizon. Mellow waves washed up the shore, lapping cool water at Noel's feet. With a smile on her face, she sat at the edge of the water and dug her toes into the smooth sand. A bell slowly resounded in the distance, and she gently closed her eyes, immersing into the tranquility of the island. She could sit there all day enjoying this delightful symphony of nature.

There was truly no place like Ishana on Earth.

Apart from being the former hub of magic, Ishana was also stunningly beautiful and unique in its own way. With a small number of inhabitants, the island was devoid of the hustle and bustle of most hierarchical cities. Houses painted in bright white were built along the slopes of the island, and the streets were all paved with cobblestones. There were bell towers and churches here and there, with their blue, round tops complimenting nicely with the azure sky. Everything seemed to be peaceful and harmonious…

…Except for Jin, who was at the moment sitting on the seawall a few paces behind Noel.

He still hadn't get over the troubles Noel gave him, especially the incident earlier. There would be a lot of explanation to do after they get back to the squadron headquarters. The fact that the Magister of Ishana would not be available until the weekend was not helping his mood any. This means that they had to stay on the island until then.

Actually the island was not bad at all, he had to admit. Nice and relaxing atmosphere with awesome scenery to boot, the place was like a paradise. People are also less intrusive here, maybe because no one recognized him as the famed Hero of Ikaruga, or maybe there was just less people around. At any rate he felt less restrained, as if an invisible burden has been lifted from his shoulders. Seriously though, it would be tenfold better if he didn't have to be stuck with… her.

Jin eyed the blond guy sitting right in front of him in dismay. Noel insisted to go to the shores to see the sunset, saying something along the lines of 'the wonder of the new world' as she rushed on. He didn't share her enthusiasm of course, but he was obliged to follow so as to protect his own body. He hated to admit it now, but he had to agree with Noel about the scenery; it was gorgeous and unlike anything he had ever seen before in his life, truly worthy of being dubbed as the greatest sunset in the world.

For a moment Jin was lost in his memories. The tranquil scene reminded him of the time when he was small, living in the countryside with his brother and sister. How he missed those days… There was not a single thing to worry about back then. Everything was modest and simple. He cannot go back there anymore… Ragna… Saya…

"Major?" Noel moved her hand up and down in front of Jin, trying to wake him up from the trance. "Are you okay? You're spacing out."

"Hmph." In a flash Jin reverted to his usual demeanor. "I'm alright. And do I have to repeat myself so many times? I told you to stop calling me Major here! We don't wear the uniform here for a reason, you see?"

"Oh… Yeah, that… Sorry, um, Jin…"

"Are you done watching that sunset?"

"Pretty much! You saw that too, right? It is awesome!"

"Good. Now let's get back to the hotel." Jin said as he started walking back the way he came a while earlier.

"We should get some dinner alone the way, shouldn't we?" Noel quickly caught up to Jin, keeping herself at a step behind him. "Maybe there will be some nice restaurants nearby… It would be nice if they serve local cuisine, too…"

Without a word Jin treaded on along the cobbled path. He was in no mood to respond to her. They were not here to have a vacation, so it made no sense to him to care about something as trifle as where to have dinner. Anything can do for him. His original plan was to ignore her until they get back to the hotel, but…

"…I know! We can buy some fresh ingredients from the store near the hotel and I can cook for both of us! A seafood risotto should be perfect!"

…Shit. Maybe not 'anything' after all. Jin felt beads of cold sweat trickle down his neck.

"Hell no!" Hands up in exasperation, Jin abruptly turned to Noel, who let out a yelp of surprise. "No way in hell am I eating your cooking again!"

While Jin was never on good terms with Noel and thus didn't have many chances to try her disastrous cooking, somehow he ironically ended up as the greatest victim of those terrible food over the years. He still vividly remembered that time when he unknowingly ate a 'cookie' baked by her back in the academy. He ended up in the sick bay for a whole day and his tongue was numb for weeks. And more recently there was that time when she brought him a cup of coffee in his office, which tasted like cat piss. Ever since then he went to great lengths to keep the office pantry Noel-free. He still had to watch out for unwanted surprises, though. That bitch can be rather stubborn when it came to cooking.

"Awww that's too bad… But you didn't seem to like my other ideas either, so I thought you can try my cooking…" Noel was getting upset yet again by someone turning down her offer to cook. Seriously how oblivious can she be? Jin was almost certain that she was intentionally trying to feed him those inedible garbage as a revenge for being ill-treated.

"Well, I don't want to die this soon, so I must refuse." He scoffed.

"That's so mean… I-I am not that bad at it!" Noel was on the verge of crying.

"That's exactly your problem, scum. You suck at cooking so much that you can't distinguish the good from the bad."

"B-But you can't judge until you have tried it! I have certainly improved!"

"Stop whining already, trash. We'll have some dinner here. At least the chef here can distinguish sugar and salt from tabasco sauce." Jin, eager to end the topic on cooking, pulled Noel into a random restaurant nearby. While he hated to have dinner together with her, it was still something that can be tolerated, unlike her so-called 'cooking'.

* * *

The restaurant they just stepped into was pretty exquisite. The place was nicely decorated with bouquets and ribbons on the walls. As the waiter led them to their table, Noel noticed how poorly they fit in there; everyone else was in suits and dresses. She was just in polo shirt and jeans. Jin wasn't much better off, wearing a frilly shirt and a skirt. She tugged his sleeve and urged him to notice their surroundings, but Jin being Jin, he didn't seem to mind a bit.

"So… Jin?" Noel timidly looked up from the menu. "Are you sure about this? Everything is so expensive here…"

"Order whatever you like. We can claim all expenses of this trip back from the headquarters." Jin said nonchalantly while reading his menu.

"Really? But we aren't exactly on a mission…"

"We can turn this into a mission later with some forged paper." Jin glared at the shocked guy sitting opposite to him. "And you are doing the forgery. After all it's your fault that we have to be here in the first place."

"Huh? But-" Noel had no idea why suddenly she was responsible for the incident. "That has nothing to do with me!"

"You didn't have proof that you were not behind this stupid body switch, right?"

"But I didn't benefit a single bit from this! I don't have any motive!"

"To me, you looked rather happy to try that endowment ars last night." Jin tapped his fingers on the candle-lit table. "And you abused my authority to borrow that ars in the first place."

"That's… hmm that's…" Noel was not sure how to respond to that. Did Jin really suspect her of causing this affair? "Well… Y-You know, I didn't know any way to swap souls or bodies, so…"

"Why should I trust you, huh?" Jin leaned closer, sending shivers down Noel's spine.

"N-No! Please trust me, Jin… I never meant to be an obstacle to you! I…" Caught up in the emotion, her eyes were tearing. "…Please…?"

After staring into her eyes for a long moment, Jin casually turned his head back to the menu.

"Relax. I knew it wasn't you, trash. You can never think of such an elaborate plan with that bird brain of yours."

"Ummm… Thanks…?"

"And I looked into your memories earlier, remember? I would know right away if you lied."

"So you already know…?" Noel let out a sigh of relief. "Please don't scare me like that again…"

"Better safe than sorry." Jin beckoned the waiter over and ordered his appetizer and main course. "I suppose I can trust you on this matter."

"So do you have any idea who did this?"

"I had been thinking about that for quite a while." Jin dug into his bag and took out a bunch of photos. "Do you happen to know the guy who took these?"

"J-Jin! Don't take these embarrassing photos out!" Noel quickly snatched them from Jin's hands. "And no, I don't know that green-haired guy from the intelligence."

"Then why did he show so much interest towards us? He came well-prepared. Look at these photos again." Jin rubbed his chin as he took out yet another photo.

Noel felt her cheeks heat up as she looked at the photo. It was the one showing them locked in an embrace in Jin's office.

"You see, it was taken at such a precise moment that we both seemed to be smiling. Since we obviously didn't enjoy it, that must either be a lucky shot or the sicko deliberately picked this out from hundreds of other photos. He seemed eager to show we are dating."

"That makes sense… But why did he want to spread such a rumor? Was that just some kind of joke?"

"Not likely. Given the unusual timing, he must be doing that on purpose."

"So that person is behind this whole mess?"

"Possibly." Jin looked at the suggestive photos thoughtfully. The impasse of the situation is the motive. No matter how he looked at it, there is no way that guy can benefit from shipping him and Noel together. And there is the question of the body switch. Why did he go through so much trouble to use a curious ars to switch their minds? Well, maybe this is only part of a larger plan? "We have to dig deeper into this mysterious guy once we have dealt with the problem at hand. The more I think about this, the stranger it seems to me."

"Hmmm… about our bodies… you think magic can really help us?"

"Of course! That's why we are here you idiot!" Jin said impatiently while plopping a cherry tomato into his mouth. "If you had spent more effort in studying, you would have known that pure magic is the origin of ars magus. If there is one way to turn us back to normal it has to be with magic."

"Right… Let's hope this ordeal will be over soon." Noel started digging into her meal as well.

While Noel had always hoped things to return to normal as soon as possible, a small part of her couldn't help but think otherwise. Sure, she had gone through many embarrassing and humiliating moments, but at least Jin was there with her. He was the one shouldering most of the responsibility and never once did she feel alone facing the hardships. This reminded her of her best friends, Tsubaki and Makoto, and the quality time they spent together in the academy. While it was strange that Jin, of all people, can elicit such a feeling, it was undoubtedly a nice change for Noel. In a way she was almost afraid of returning to normal, back to her dreaded usual life.

Noel stole a glance at Jin, who had his full attention on the plate in front of him. Sure, he was always mistreating her and calling her nasty names, but deep down he was still the reliable and capable Jin she had known years ago.

"Hmm… Jin?"

"What's up, scum? Out with it already."

"…Thank you."

Now that was not something Jin expected. He put his glass of wine down and looked at Noel in the eyes. "Hmph. I don't remember doing anything for you."

"Well… We would never have got this far if it weren't for you, so…"

"True. But still we aren't in a better position now. Rest assured, I did everything for myself."

"Even then, what you did mean a lot to me… so anyways, thank you, Jin." Noel smiled. It certainly felt easier to express her feelings now that Jin was in her body. It was not much different from talking to herself in front of a mirror. Yet another small gem of this fiasco.

Jin was at a loss for words. Did she just thank him even he never gave a fuck about her? How dense can this woman be?

"Tch. Don't thank me just for it, trash. It annoys me to no end." He said after a long silence, shoving a spoonful of cake into his mouth as he pondered over Noel's words. Why would anyone be thankful to someone who didn't care? Worse still, it made him feel as if he had actually done something for her sake. That thought was revolting, to say the least.

"Alright… One more thing… Jin…" For some reason, Noel was visibly disturbed. "Umm… Do you mind stop eating soon? I mean, this is like your third slice of cake already and my body will get fat if you keep-"

"But I'm still hungry." Jin cut her off bluntly. "The portion of the food here is way too small for me. I need a full stomach to think straight."

"But still…" Noel watched in horror as Jin devoured yet another plate of dessert. She would have to exercise for hours – no, scratch that – for days to remain fit. No, no no…! On second thought, she really should return to her own body as soon as she can.

* * *

**A/N: Have to cut back the jokes a bit to pave the way for the plot in this chapter and the next. Hope you still find it enjoyable.**


	7. Chapter 6 - Premonition

Hurried footsteps echoed in the halls early in the morning. The noise was not loud enough to rouse others from their slumber, but the chatter and quarrel that followed made a few stir in their beds. Nobody batted an eye to that, nor did anyone complain about it. To everyone working or staying in the small hotel, those two blondes looked like a young couple enjoying their honeymoon trip on the beautiful island. With them sharing the same bed in the double room, some noise during the sleeping hours was to be expected of course. People knew when not to interrupt, after all.

Nothing of the sort happened however. Jin and Noel were lucky to be up early that day, saving themselves from the embarrassment of having to face those who got the wrong ideas. That was kind of given, as both of them were not exactly used to sharing a bed with someone else.

When they first checked in at the reception, Noel was beyond surprised to find Jin booking a double room for their stay. The idea of sleeping with him made her kind of nervous, yet her mind was busy turning down inappropriate thoughts that made her giddy. Jin, in contrast, remained nonchalant about it, saying 'nothing was wrong with sleeping with his own body'. It would embarrass him to death to admit to having overlooked the difference between a double room and a twin room.

Sharing a bed turned out to be a bad idea after all, as he found out the hard way this morning…

"Look at what you have done, trash!" Jin yelled as he pointed to a bruise on his forehead. "What do you think you are doing!?"

"…Sorry… I-I didn't mean to hit you… I was having a vivid dream…" Noel, after being forcefully dragged out of the bed, was rubbing her eyes. She was still woozy from the sleep.

"So you are into punching people in your dreams?"

"No… I was just having a dream where you tried to spread and strap my legs and-"

With his hand resting on his hips, Jin cocked his head slightly in confusion. What did she just say? Was that supposed to mean…?

All sense of drowsiness vaporized in an instant, as it dawned on Noel what she had just let on. She gasped loudly and covered her face with her hands. That still didn't hide her fervent blush, though.

"Well…" So it was what he thought it meant. "You… have a rather twisted mind."

"I-It was just a dream! I…!" Noel frantically waved her hands. "D-Don't take it so seriously!"

"Hmph… Whatever."

Unsure how to respond to that, Noel awkwardly scratched her head, looking for ways to get away from the embarrassing topic. "A-Anyways! Is it time for us to get up already?"

"Not quite, but we may as well be up earlier. Better not be late for the appointment with the Magister." Jin, hands still rubbing the bruise on his forehead, slowly made his way to his suitcase. "You better start dressing up now. I have no wish for my body to look unpresentable."

As the Magister's residence was on the opposite side of the island, Jin had his reasons for being early. With the 'help' of each other, they finished their morning routines and were ready to set off in just under an hour.

* * *

The light breeze in the countryside was refreshing, so much that it blew away the lingering memories of the awkward incident earlier. The weather in Ishana was impeccable as ever, but Jin was in no mood to enjoy it to the fullest.

Hell, his mood would certainly not make a turn for the better until at least he swapped his body back.

"Get off your lazy bum. We're going."

"…Omm… Nom… Just a minute, Jin!" Noel was stuffing herself with a ham sandwich. The breakfast was bought by Jin back in the town. He was not about to be amused once more by Noel suggesting to cook.

"Tch. What an obstacle." Jin had already finished his food a while ago. Left with nothing to do, he lay down on the lawn nearby, watching the clouds drift above him.

The countryside… huh. It had been a while since he had spent time in such a place. When he was small he loved to lie on the grass and watch the endless sky above him, like what he was doing now. Life was easy and joy was simple. Ragna did all the hard work around the church, like getting water from the stream and gathering food. That left him and Saya nothing important to do, so he just lay and relaxed in nature's embrace. Saya, on the other hand, like to spend her time under the shadow of trees, reading books and having picnics…

…Saya?

Jin bolted up as a similar figure caught his attention. From the corner of his eye he was almost certain that he saw his sister under a tree over there.

No. Of course that wasn't her. How foolish of him to think so.

That was just Jin himself sitting under the tree. More precisely it was his body, possessed by someone called Noel Vermillion.

That woman. That bitch. That monstrosity that impersonated his sister. He should kill her sooner or later. Nothing would stop him…

…Wait. There was never anything stopping him from doing that, right? Papers can be forged, witnesses can be bought… Why didn't he finish her meaningless existence already?

Jin clutched his head as his stood up. He was getting a migraine. All thanks to that woman, as always. Damn… Just what is the deal with that bitch? Every single fiber of him wanted her to vanish, yes? So there should be no problem offing her, right? Slowly he approached the figure who was happily chewing on a sandwich, mind bent with murderous intent. He mentally readied himself for the bloodshed that would ensue…

Suddenly a sharp pain jabbed at his head, as if being struck by a bolt of lightning. He screamed in agony and fell to his knees. The figure in front of him turned around in shock.

"Jin? Are you alright? Jin!"

Jin stared up at himself right in front of his face. Hahaha… Of course he can't kill her now… How stupid can he be? He needed her to return to his body!

Yes. That sounded perfect as an excuse to push away the conflict in his mind.

After getting Jin back to his feet with Noel's help, the duo continued their journey across the island. Ever since Ishana lost its glory decades ago, public transport on the island slowly vanished as well. There had been a monorail connecting the two sides of Ishana, but that fell into disrepair years earlier. No one bothered to patch it up again, cause hardly anyone needed that to get around. Without such convenience, Jin and Noel had to trek along the base of the mountain for an hour to reach their destination. Well, at least the scenery along the countryside path was nice.

"You are going first, trash." Jin curtly turned to Noel as they reached the base of the mountain. The path ahead looked rough and rather steep.

"Ehhh? B-But I don't know the way-"

"I don't see any crossroads around, scum. Anyways you are walking too slowly behind me. This way at least I can shove you on if you are not going fast enough."

"But that's-" Noel tried to protest, but Jin already jabbed her at the waist to urge her on.

Noel had no idea why she had to take the lead, especially the way ahead involve some rock climbing. If she were in her own body, she would have totally thought Jin wanted to take a peek at her panties.

Tentatively she made her way up some rocks. Jin's body proved useful in such physical exertion, as it felt easier than she expected. Soon she reached the top of the path at the lee of the mountain, chiseled along the cliff overlooking the valley underneath. At least she didn't make a spectacle of herself in front of Jin! A while earlier she was almost certain she would lose her grip and fell right on top of him.

"…What are you so happy about?" Jin looked puzzled as he dusted himself off after the climb.

"Hehe… That's a secret!" With a grin on her face, Noel walked on ahead of Jin.

As Noel planted her foot near the edge of the path, the ground shook slightly underneath her and let out a loud crack.

"Ew. Did you just fart?" Jin frowned as he came to a stop a few steps behind her.

"No!" Noel was so flustered that she was not aware of the soil slowly breaking loose at her feet. "T-That was-"

And all hell broke loose at that instant.

The rock and soil that made up the path moments earlier came loose, cracking under the additional weight. The crack reached all the way across the narrow path, and the entire outcrop broke away at Noel's feet. She tried to move away from the collapsing path, but gravity prevailed and the rock beneath her fell before she can take a step. In mid-air, she frantically waved her arms, trying to take hold of anything solid. As the dust settled, Noel was hanging on for dear life at the edge of the cliff.

And on the other end of her arm was Jin, locking his grip with her arm.

"Aaah! Aaaaaaah!" Noel still hadn't recovered from the shock, it seemed.

"Don't…let…go! Dammit, you idiot! Pull yourself up!" Jin caught Noel with his other arm. With the fire of determination in his eyes he pulled with all his might and they slowed inched back away from the edge.

At long last Noel got safely back onto solid ground. Exhausted, Jin and Noel both sat on the rough ground panting.

"Hah…hah… T-Thank you… Jin…" It seemed to Noel she was destined to look clumsy in front of Jin, after all. "I…I owe my life to you…"

"Hah… Don't thank me for something like that… I think I told you earlier when we were having dinner in that restaurant?"

"But… This is different! I could have died without you!"

"…Tch." Jin looked away from the teary eyes of Noel. "I said I never did anything for you… and I probably never will… so…"

"You aren't being honest to yourself… are you?"

"… You trash! I saved you just then because… because that is my body! Y-You happy now?!"

Noel opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She can easily write off every other insult Jin threw to her before, but this… this was different from those petty words. So Jin really saw her as a worthless someone who carries absolutely no meaning for him? Not even enough for him to save her life in a pinch? Slowly her head drooped, and tear flowed from her eyes.

Jin was silent as Noel sobbed uncontrollably next to him. While he wanted to ignore her like always, he couldn't stop thinking about whether he would save Noel if not for her having his body. Would he still save her without hesitation like what he did just then?

* * *

Despite the sullen mood hanging in the air, it didn't take them long afterwards to reach the other side of the island.

This side of the island was not too different from the side they came from. It was easy enough to locate the magnificent garden from a distance. Enclosed by the lush greenery all around, the residence itself was a remarkable building, resembling a huge cathedral on the outside. As Jin and Noel entered through the front door, they were greeted by an impressive marble hall adorned with candles on the walls. It was a majestic place for sure.

"Hello, strangers." An old man with a cane staggered out from an alcove nearby. "What are you here for?"

"Greetings." Jin stepped forward to the man. "We are here to see the Magister."

"Oh… so you two are the guests of the Magister." The old man stopped and looked up at them both. "But you still haven't answered my question, dear. I asked 'what' you are here for. Not 'who' you are here for. Hm?"

"We were stuck in a curious condition, so we hope to find answers here."

"The Magister answers to no one, young lady." The old man smiled and shrugged, walked past them to the other side of the hall. "Surely not to someone like you."

"You…!" Jin was getting impatient with this man and his antics. "Who are you to talk? Bring us to the Magister, we had an appointment."

"Not so soon, dear. I'm 'fraid he is not ready for you at the moment." The man slowly sat on a bench and started reading a dust-covered book. Having nothing else to do, the duo sat in another bench as well.

There was still no sign of the Magister after half an hour. After pacing back and forth in the hall for a while, Jin finally went back to the old man for a word.

"Excuse me." He said coldly. "Do you mind at least telling the Magister of our arrival? This is an urgent matter."

"Urgent? I'm 'fraid I don't see why your matter is in any way urgent, young lady."

"Please, sir." In a timid voice Noel joined in the conversation. "We are trapped in this… condition… and we need the help and knowledge of the Magister to return us to normal."

"Now, now." The old man placed a bookmark in the book and closed it. "That is the right attitude to ask for help. How I am glad to see someone who don't 'demand' help and answer from others." The old man scoffed at Jin. "You can never get what you want if you keep that nasty manner up, young girl… or should I say 'young man'?"

"Wait… How do you… So you are the Magister?"

"No, not really. Don't compare me with that great gentleman." With his cane in hand, the old man stood up shakily. "I can never attain what he had achieved in his life."

"So… he had already passed away?" Noel was confused by what the man just said.

"Technically he didn't, since no one saw him dead. His fate was unknown to all since he disappeared a year ago. In his absence I act as the Overseer of this place."

"I'm sorry to hear that…"

"It's fine, dear. Well, back to the curious situation you two are in. While I am not the Magister you expected, I believe my magic can still be of help." The Overseer grinned, eyeing the two youngsters before him. "I suppose I am correct in sensing your minds being switched?"

"That's right, Overseer. It had been a few days since then." Jin, while still not pleased by the unwanted lecture, tried his best to sound respectful.

"Soul transferring is not something new in magic. But to swap two with each other does require great skill… Don't worry, though. I am more than capable to reverse its effects. Come closer…"

Again, the Overseer opened the book he was reading a while earlier. It contained the necessary runes for casting the spell. On his command a blue magic circle formed around Jin and Noel, and within seconds both of them went unconscious.

* * *

Noel opened her eyes to a bright ray of light. She was in a strange place, with nothing but endless white space. Hesitantly she looked down to check her body.

The chest was… kind of flat. Sadly that didn't give her any useful information. She slowly reached behind her neck… and felt her familiar long hair.

Awesome! She got her body back!

As she looked up again she saw a figure at a distance before her. It was Jin, alright. With a smile on her face she pranced to him.

Wait. Was she having another erotic dream like last night?

Shaking the thought out of her head, she continued on to Jin. Slowly but surely, she was getting closer to him. But as she got closer, the bright white space around turned to a dull grey, and then to pitch black.

"Jin? Are you here?" Noel waved her hands in front of her face, yet she saw nothing, not even her fingers.

"Ugh… You, trash… Go…away!" That was Jin's voice all right.

"Jin…? Are you-"

"You…worthless scum! Just get away and die already!"

Noel, struck by the memories of the earlier incident, felt her heart miss a beat. Should she just back away as Jin said? After all, he told her he can handle his own matter. She had absolutely no place in his heart. So, why bother?

Noel found herself stopping in the middle of the dark space. Yes, there was no reason for her to go on. Slowly she turned back and walked away.

"Arghhh! Hah…hah…" Jin's cracked voice echoed in the eerie space. "Ugh… No…"

Was Jin suffering? Or was he...dying? Noel pondered as she felt her feet slowing down once again. Should she just look away and let him be as he wished? After all, she would be doing him a favor by not being his obstacle. But still…

No. There is no way she can do that.

Noel swiftly headed back into the midst of the darkness.

Even though Jin may think her to be a worthless person, it would not change how she sees him. He will always have a special place in her heart as someone she respects and loves. She will try everything she can to help him…

…And save him if need be.

She can never come to terms with herself if he died in front of her.

Tear from her eyes streaked down her cheek. She quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand. It didn't matter actually, as she can't see a thing in front of her.

Countless thorns brushed against her face and her body as her ran towards Jin's voice. That wouldn't stop her. Nothing would.

After what seemed like an eternity, Noel noticed the surrounding got brighter as she ran onwards. Was the worst over?

"Jin!" Noel shouted at the top of her lungs. "I'm coming for you!"

There he was. The familiar figure of Jin Kisaragi.

"Noel?" Jin turned to her, his face lit by the bright light surrounding him.

"Jin!" Noel leapt towards him with her arms open.

A dazzling light burst around Jin and Noel, enveloping them in its brilliance and warmth.

* * *

**A/N: And thus ends the first half of this story. Brace yourselves for the incoming roster of characters!**


	8. Chapter 7 - Exposition

"And… that's it?"

With a flick of the finger, a short plastic stick flies through the air in an arc, landing right into the bin across the room.

"Yes… As far as we remember."

"Seriously? You mean to tell me you two came in this early just to tell me all that crap? That has nothing to do with me." Another lollipop gets picked from a shelf nearby; its wrapper quickly torn away and crumpled in a fluid move. "I don't read novels, but to me it can't even pass as a decent story."

"I-It's not a story… We need your help, Professor."

As the lollipop finds its way to the feline professor's mouth, she turns around to the two visitors. What do they want from her? They look pretty normal to her…

At that instant, a certain feature catches her eye. Something… white…

* * *

With fingers massaging his temples, Kagura flips the last pages of the squadron log.

Maintenance work carried out in pantry… Fire drill completed under supervision of commander… Washrooms cleaned by secretary as punishment for making tea that tasted like urine…

"Man. This is a complete waste of time." With a sigh, the report of the 4th Squadron is tossed away. "I should have known better."

It is a little past 6 in the morning by the time Kagura decides to call it quits. He did not find anything remotely interesting in the files Hibiki brought him last night. Apart from an unusually high occurrence of minor fire in the pantry and the eventual fire drills, there didn't seem to be any remarkable event…

…Apart from a curious mission to Ishana.

The details of the said mission were missing and none of the logs he read contained the mission debriefing. The only piece of information he managed to find was that the mission was directly assigned to the Squadron commander and no information disclosure was required. Weird, as he recalled no such mission being assigned from the NOL headquarters. He will do more research on that later.

But for now, he is going down to the hall to have some breakfast. He can't even recall when he last got up sober enough to have breakfast. Hell, whatever.

Kagura is expecting the place to be empty since it is not even 7 in the morning. Everyone should still be in their beds. Well, not really, as he finds someone there before him.

"Hey, morning, Koko." Kagura puts on his charming smile and pats Kokonoe on the shoulder. "Up so early today?"

"Take your hand off me, ladies' man." Kokonoe gives him a cold stare. "Don't mistake me as one of your girls."

"C'mon. Don't be so uptight, Professor." The Colonel lifts his hand and shrugs. No point in getting on her nerves for nothing. "Grabbing so much food, huh. You sure are a big eater."

"You seriously think I'm gonna eat all these?" Kokonoe looks down at the bags of takeaway food in her hands, and stares back in amusement. "For the record these are for laboratory use, alright?"

"Wow. So your laboratory rats get to have toast and macaroni for breakfast?"

"Of course not, you idiot. No offence here, but I think you are better off minding your own business. Now piss off, would ya?"

And with that, the Professor strides back towards the basement, leaving Kagura alone rubbing his chin, wondering why she is so grumpy today.

* * *

As Tager can attest to, only two things can send Kokonoe into a relentless fury that cannot be lessened by lollipops. The first is the mentioning of her father, and the second is somebody acting like a moron and making her pay the price. Today is the latter case. Strictly speaking, nobody did anything stupid, but since she still has to deal with the crap that follows, it is enough to grind her gears hard.

And now she finds herself going through the trouble to fetch breakfast just because she let two brats in this morning. She could have sent Tager in her stead, but those two insisted privacy takes priority.

Speaking of which…

"…I reminded you about it! But you keep forgetting and making a scene…"

"…You should have worn something longer."

"That's not the point! It's… basic etiquette! Here!"

"Stop showing me how to do it! It's just that beastkin have sharp eyes!"

Kokonoe sighs. She keys in the password and the metal door to her lab slides open.

"… And beastkin have sharp ears too, you know. Although I don't think it takes a beastkin to hear you from the other side of this door." The Professor snarks as she put the breakfast on the bench.

At least the scene unfolding in the lab amuses her a little. There they are, Jin trying to grab and hold onto Noel's thighs, and Noel resisting with all her might. She would have thrown them out for indecency if not for knowing better.

"Heh. Still bickering about sitting posture, I see."

"Y-Yes. Professor." The Jin Kisaragi answered with a tint of red on his face.

"Yeah, yeah. Such an important trifle matter." The Noel Vermillion, finally freeing herself from Jin's grasp, retorts with sarcasm.

"How is this trifle? You are flaunting my underwear to everyone else!"

"It's just a white garment! It doesn't even bear anything special on it like polka dots or cartoon figures!"

There they go again. Kokonoe feels her brow twitch. "Okay, okay! I get the fucking idea. Now do me a favor and shut your trap, alright? And be thankful and munch on the breakfast I got you."

That seems to do the trick. Without further ado, Jin and Noel grab a seat and clear some space on the messy bench to have their breakfast. If there is anything those two can agree on right now, it has to be their hunger after a long morning.

"So… let's see if I get this right." Kokonoe picks out a writing pad from the pile of junk on the bench. "In short, you two found yourself stuck in each other's body a few months ago. And after a bunch of embarrassing incidents, you managed to travel to Ishana to seek help. There you met some dude with decent magic who returned you back to normal. You went back to your merry lives afterwards in your original bodies."

"Yes. Pretty much."

"And this morning, you find yourselves somehow suffering from the same issue. After some consideration you decided that Professor Kokonoe is the smartest one around here, and you sneaked your way here to ask for my help."

"…I suppose you can say that." Noel, now in Jin's body, sighs while looking intently at Jin's legs, probably checking whether he has his knees squeezed against each other when sitting.

"The feeling is the same though. Still awful as shit." Jin shoves another spoonful of macaroni into his mouth as he glares at Noel.

"Hmm… And you can't do personal ars this time around as well?"

"No, unfortunately. I tried to summon Yukianesa earlier this morning, but it wouldn't heed my call."

"Tch. So in other words, you two are useless in combat until we solve this problem." Kokonoe twirls the pen in her hand. "How troublesome. Guess I will have to prioritize this before my other plans."

In a few minutes, the Professor grabs a headset from somewhere on the bench.

"This is TR-0009 Tager. Awaiting orders."

"Tager, get to the city and locate Terumi. Keep an eye on him but don't engage."

"Understood. Tager out."

Kokonoe turns back to the duo sitting on the other end of the bench.

"Listen up, kids. I don't exactly know what's going on, but I think I get the gist of the situation." She pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "The problem here is that your trip to Ishana did not solve the initial problem as you have thought."

"Huh?! But how-?"

"Don't interrupt me. While the spell returned your souls back to your original bodies, it didn't reverse the effect of the initial switch. As the spell unraveled and destabilized over time, you return to this switched state."

"Hmph. How about you explain it with simpler words?"

"I knew you can't understand it, dummies. Watch this carefully." Kokonoe pulls two wires from somewhere under the bench and places them in front of her. "Imagine these two wires represent you two, the connection between your own body and soul. Originally they are separate from each other just like this, parallel to each other. Jin's mind controls his own body and the same goes for Noel. All is well."

The scientist then moves the ends of the wires so they cross each other in the middle. "Now the first incident happens and your souls are switched. You see, the wires cross to the other side, Jin's mind controls Noel's body and vice versa."

Then she moves the wires again, this time bending them in halves, forming two 'V' shapes and linking them in the middle. "Here is the result of the spell you got in Ishana. The ends of both wires are back to their original sides, so you are in charge of your own body again. Yet the wires are still entangled in the middle, wrapping against each other."

"Okay… So basically, we didn't actually solve the problem a few months ago."

"Bingo. The spell you got only temporarily sent you back to your own body. To solve this shit for real, you gotta figure out how the initial cross was made. Earlier you mentioned a green-haired guy posting your embarrassing photos during the body flip months ago, right? That had to be Terumi. Why don't you pick up the scent from there?"

"Easier said than done. Are you expecting us to go straight up to him and ask?" Jin snorts.

"Of course not. That's why I have sent Tager out there to keep tabs on him. This should prevent you guys from running into him while you do your work. Remember that you are as hapless as a rabbit now that you cannot use your weapons. Don't get into a fight and stay in contact with the communication portal, alright? Now go before you are permanently stuck in the wrong body."

"Okay… Wait! Permanently!?" Noel feels the blood chilling in her body.

"Who knows. Can't write off any possibilities until you find out what caused this, you know. Godspeed, you two."

As Jin and Noel scurry out of the laboratory, Kokonoe picks up the headset again.

"Makoto. I have a mission for you…"

* * *

"… So… What now?"

"I thought I told you not to disturb me when I am thinking?"

"…Sorry, Major…"

Sitting at the edge of her bed, Noel cuddles her panda plushie and looks at her alter ego, who is apparently in deep thoughts. While it is nice to have Professor Kokonoe at their backs, the earlier meeting didn't help them much. Enlisting more people for help is only going to complicate matters and spill their embarrassing secret, so once again it comes to themselves to solve the problem.

"…Risky plan. But I have no choice. Damn it…" After a long while, Jin gets up and pounds his fist on the table. "You. Go ask Kagura about where Captain Hazama is staying right now."

"Me? But-"

"I have no intent to be molested by that sick bastard. Besides, I have to get equipment for…staging an accident." Jin plants his hands on his hips as he speaks.

"A-Accident? What are you planning, Major?"

"Save your questions for later. Just stay in character and ask Kagura about Hazama, alright? I will see you in the lobby in half an hour." Jin gives Noel an annoyed look as he walks out of the room.

"Umm… Kagura, huh…" Noel mutters to herself as she imagines the usual interactions between Jin and the Colonel. Are they getting along well? Is Jin treating him as coldly as he treats everyone else? She should have paid more attention earlier. After some pondering, Noel decides that it should be fine just to act cool and nonchalant.

"Colonel Kagura. Can I have the details on where Captain Hazama stays in Yabiko… hmm… or is it better to just say 'I need the details'?" She mumbles as she steps out from her room. Better think things over and do some rehearsals before the real thing…

"Huh? Jin?"

"Eeek!" Taken by complete surprise, Noel almost pees herself. Who just called out for her?

"Did you just come out from Noel's room?" A man in a red jacket steps in front of her.

"R-Ragna?!" Shit. What would Jin say to him? Think, think, think… Oh that's right, how can she forget? "Oh~ Brother~"

"Argh! Stop it, you prick!" Ragna scowls as he places his hand on his Blood-Scythe. "Do it one more time and I will kick your ass down these stairs. Now answer me. What are you doing in Noel's room?"

"I… umm…" Noel tries to make up a sound excuse, but her mind refuses to function no matter how hard she jolts it. "I… was just… hmm…"

"Sounds fishy, you bastard. You better tell the truth, or else…"

"I…can't find her in her room. She…she borrowed my stuff so I came around to get it back! That…scum! Always an obstacle."

"Still lying, huh. I will ask her myself when she comes back. You better watch your ass, Jin."

"Ugh… W-Whatever…" Noel tries her best to walk away calmly. Phew, it seems she has averted the crisis for now.

* * *

Basked in warm sunlight, two figures walk side by side out of the NOL headquarters in Yabiko. To the people around, they look nothing unlike the ordinary folks of the city. Little do they know the importance and caliber of the mission they are about to undertake.

"So what is the plan, Major?"

"We are heading to this Valiant Hotel. I hope you didn't screw things up back then?"

"Umm… I don't think anyone got suspicious of me."

"That's good to hear. For your information, we are about to break into Hazama's room in that hotel."

"What?! That's… How?" With her mouth agape, Noel exclaims.

"Indoor voices, scum." Jin glares at Noel. "Don't attract unnecessary attention."

"Sorry, Major. Umm…Is it alright for us to do that?"

"…It's risky, but there is no way around it. We need more information."

"Alright. Let's do our best, Major."

Jin throws a glance at his companion beside him. It seems he is destined to be stuck with this dumb and clumsy girl. Wonderful.

* * *

**A/N: There you are, the start to the other half of this story. If you haven't noticed, this takes place during Chronophantasma and it will contain spoilers from the game in the later chapters.**


	9. Chapter 8 - Encounters

"Hi there!"

"Good morning, miss. What can I help you with?"

"Well… I can't find my friends after using the bathroom." Swishing her tail, the young female beastkin lets out a wry smile out of embarrassment. "You know, those two blondes who were here just a moment ago? I think they were checking in when I was away… Ahaha…"

"Alright, miss. Do you want me to give them a call to pick you up?" The hotel concierge reaches over to the communication portal on the desk.

"No, please don't do that! They are going to laugh at me so hard for getting lost like a little kid!" The beastkin shakes her head in panic. "I know! Can I have their room number?"

"I'm afraid I can't help you with that, miss. Rules and regulations on customer secrecy, you know."

"Please, just this time? I really don't want to be embarr-"

"That's impossible. I'm sorry."

"I see…" The beastkin lowers her voice and pulls out a small stack of banknotes from a hidden pocket near her ample chest. "How about now? Let's say I overheard you around the corner. Deal?"

The concierge considers for a brief second, then he grabs a calculator and punches a few buttons. In a fluid movement he slides it across the counter and snatches the stack of notes near the beastkin.

"Thank you very much. Have a nice day!" With the newly acquired information, the beastkin quickly reverts to her usual chirpy tone. She walks to the elevators and hit the call button.

"Hello? Gnu reporting in."

"What's it, Makoto? You ran into trouble?"

"No, Professor. Everything is fine… I suppose. It's just…"

"Out with it already. I don't have all day."

"Well… The targets just checked into a hotel room. Should I really continue this?"

"Of course. Why would that matter? Your mission is to follow and protect them, remember?"

"I know! But I kinda feel like a stalker here… And not that they need the protection, methinks."

"What are you talking about? Of course they are gonna need protection if they decide to get on with it. Really, you should have taken your sex ed lessons more seriously."

"W-What?! That is not even remotely related! I was talking about this secret bodyguard mission!"

"Oh." The radio goes silent for a while. "Anyways just go on with your mission. I assure you that those two need the, um, protection. …On the safe side, you should go buy some contraception device for those two. I have no wish for any unwanted pregnancy here. That's an order."

"You can't be serious?! They are adults for fuck's sake!" Makoto shouts into the radio set, earning her some annoyed glances from the people nearby. No response returns from the radio however.

For the first time in her life as a spy, Makoto is overwhelmed by the sheer absurdity of the mission assigned to her.

* * *

Click.

Click. Click.

After making sure she knows how to operate the lighter, Noel puts it down on the coffee table. She would be lying if she says she isn't nervous about what is about to happen.

Actually the plan is not that complicated even by her standards. Jin has gone over it many times just a while ago. He will sneak down to the basement of the hotel to disable the ars magus regulator there, which controls the various systems operating here in the hotel. After that she will use the lighter to trigger the fire alarm from this room. With the regulator down, the emergency fail-safe would kick in and unlock every door in the hotel. Then she will head to Hazama's room and grab every important document she finds. Jin figured that in the chaos that follows they should be able to blend in and leave the building unnoticed.

The only catch is that they have to finish their jobs quickly, preferably within a quarter of an hour. There is only so much time before somebody contacts the NOL emergency service and they can't possibly wriggle out of it after the authorities arrive. All is for naught if they are caught in their acts.

In more ways than one, they are breaking the law. The mere thought of it is enough to make Noel feel giddy. To keep her mind occupied on other things, she picks up the communication portal and checks it out. Jin is supposed to contact her with the portal once he has done his part. Any moment now, as he has gone for quite some time already.

Noel turns the blue portal in her hands. This rather generic portal belongs to Jin. While their functions are almost identical, she finds her orange one decorated with stickers look way more appealing. As part of their disguise, they have not returned their portals to the original owners. It would be quite embarrassing if someone sees Jin using a portal covered with girly stickers.

Noel switches the portal on, looking for something to do to pass the time. She has no wish to browse through Jin's personal stuff in the portal, but the title of a certain photo gallery piques her interest. '23232323~3~'…? What on Earth could this mean? She couldn't help but take a peek…

She regrets opening it the instant she did so.

It is overflowing with hundreds of photos of Ragna the Bloodedge. Many are poorly photoshopped, however, with the head of Ragna spliced with some muscular bodies. To be honest, the entire gallery looks like an eerie mausoleum containing the deaths of the many twisted existences of Ragna…

Shit… She is going to have nightmares after opening this Pandora's Box.

At that instant, the portal beeped as a message arrived. Noel, still shocked by the disturbing images, fumbles and almost drops the portal.

It is Jin alright. Time to get into action.

* * *

"Alright… That should do it."

With a final rub, Jin pockets the used alcohol wipe. Now no trace of his tampering is left on the regulator. He has carefully cleaned everywhere that he has touched near the device. Even if anyone suspects sabotage, there is no way it can be traced back to him. Actually it would be absolutely impossible to trace this sabotage to Jin Kisaragi. His body has never set foot in this little basement after all. Still, it is uncalled for to leave loose ends here.

Of course, it would be all for nothing if he is caught red-handed right here. Time to leave.

As he carefully climbs the stairs back to ground level, panicked screams and shouts ring in his ears. It seems the girl is successful in stirring up chaos and troubles. Just what she is good at.

Doors are unlocked everywhere, so Jin doesn't have a lot of trouble finding his way out. Nobody cares about where he is going, too, as everyone is busy running for their lives. Really, it's just a fire drill. He had done it countless times back in the 4th Squadron. There is no reason to run around like headless chickens.

As Jin strolls out from the entrance of the hotel, flocks of people are gathering nearby. They are all panting and exhausted. A few are sitting on the ground, and some are hugging their families and friends.

Something isn't right here…

As if in answer to Jin's rising confusion, a pungent smell of soot enters his nostrils, almost making him choke on his breath. Wait… Why is there a real fire breaking out upstairs? Everyone knows a tiny flame from a lighter is enough to trigger a fire alarm! Did that bitch screw up big time? He turns his head upwards in utter annoyance.

Smoke and soot billows out of the windows a few floors above him. Reddish flames flicker as they lick the brick walls outside the broken windows. The blazing inferno is quickly spreading to the higher levels. Those people did have a reason to run away in panic after all. Jin hopes no one is trapped inside the building…

…Oh fuck there is. At least one anyway.

Jin quickly tries calling Noel on the communication portal. No one answers. Impatiently he tries once more, but still to no avail.

"Why is it always like this?" He mutters as he quickly dashes back into the hotel.

Jin grabs a wet towel from a nearby service cart as he goes up the service stairs. It smells funky and has more holes on it than a wheel of Swiss cheese, but it will have to do. The fire has not spread to the lower floors at the moment, but time is critical.

Tirelessly he climbs the flights of stairs to the sixth floor, where Hazama's room is located. As expected, the air is suffocating and it is next to impossible to find his way around. The smoke from the fire has found its way up here. Wrapping the wet rag over his mouth and nose, he set off to find the room as well as the damsel in distress.

It is not an easy task, feeling his way around in the smoggy hallway, but eventually he locates Hazama's room. From what he can see, the place is in a mess. Clothes, bed sheets, suitcases… all kinds of junk are scattering everywhere. No one is in the room though.

Jin punched the door frame in frustration. Where else could she have gone off to? He certainly didn't see her outside the hotel.

"Noel Vermillion!" Gritting his teeth, he shouts into the empty hallway. "Answer me if you can hear me!"

* * *

It doesn't look good at all.

Noel has no idea why she is stuck here. Everything was proceeding according to plan. Fire alarm triggered, doors unlocked, people getting out… yada yada yada. She has even retrieved Hazama's portable terminal in his room. Why did a real fire break out all of a sudden?

That can wait, however. Saving herself takes priority right now.

Noel got to the main staircase a while ago, but the smoke was too much for her. From what she remembers from the fire drills back in the old days, she should go somewhere with good ventilation and sealed from the fire. All windows in rooms are sealed, so it is not a good idea to get into one of those condos. The best place she came up with was the roof.

So here she is, pulling herself up the service staircase. Not a long way up, but not exactly a short trip however. Carrying a ton of loot does not help either, but the real deal is the lack of oxygen. In hindsight she should have left everything behind, but she decides to carry on anyway. She is almost there…

In the darkness she trips over something and loses her balance. She yelps and braces herself… but strangely it doesn't hurt. Then everything starts to whirl around her, and the lack of oxygen is finally getting to her. Before long sleepiness overcomes her and she loses conscious.

* * *

"…ke up."

Is someone calling for her? Her eyelids feel so heavy though…

"No… hol… urself…ther."

Huh…? Who is it?

"… flat chest… board… nothing…"

"Stop talking about my breasts!" Noel shoots up and yells.

"Heh. That always works."

Noel turns around to see herself… or Jin in this case. They seem to be on the rooftop already.

"I take that you are alright?"

"No… I'm not flat-chested…"

"Tch. I mean are you hurt in anyway?"

Noel moves and stretches her limbs. "Nothing serious I suppose. Are you okay then?"

"Of course. I hauled you out of there all by myself after all."

"Ah… Tha-" Noel stops awkwardly, remembering how Jin didn't appreciate the idea of being credited for saving her. But still, it would be ungrateful for her to let that slide without a proper acknowledgement. "Um… Thank you for… getting me out of there…?"

"…Don't mention it. Try not to get yourself killed next time, scum."

"S-Sure! But I didn't get into this mess myself…"

"Well, for a start you could have left all these behind." Jin turns his head to the large sack filled with documents and other junk. "Your life always comes first. That should be basic knowledge."

"Yes, I suppose…" Noel feels something different in Jin's words. Is it just her imagination or does he almost sound like he cares…?

"Let's find a way back to the ground. We are not yet in the clear."

"Yes Major!"

* * *

It was a tedious day at work for Makoto.

Not in the same sense of tedious as in monotonous office paperwork, though. She is worn out tracking down her targets in the city of Yabiko.

Truth be told, if it wasn't for the additional order from the HQ, she wouldn't have lost sight on her targets. Without this interruption, she would be right there to help her friends out when all hell broke loose in the hotel. And if she were there, she wouldn't have to spend the rest of the day chasing them down in the city.

At least her friends are now safely back in headquarters. That's good to know. Or else Kokonoe's gonna pay.

At long last Makoto is back in the NOL headquarters in the city. She was preparing to enjoy a good night's rest when she finds Ragna and Kagura gathering at a table, both having a serious look on their faces.

"Hiya guys! Why so serious? Whatcha talking abo… Oh my gaaaawd!" Makoto's eyes widens as a pair of white panties come to view, lying peacefully on the table between the two stern-looking dudes. "You! Perverts!"

"Whoa! Don't yell in my ears, babe." Kagura grins. "Don't get the wrong idea, though. This matter is of utmost importance."

"Like hell it is!" Makoto snatches the panties on the table.

"Why are you getting so worked up? It's not yours righ- Ouch!" Kagura receives a kick to the nuts before he can finish that sentence.

"Don't say it like you have seen mine! Bastard!"

"Calm down, okay? Dude has a point though." Ragna helps Kagura up, who is still recovering from the blow to his manhood. "This is something we need to investigate. I found this in Jin's room."

"Wait, what?" Makoto finds herself being surprised once again. "I don't think Major Kisaragi is into cross-dressing."

"Nice to know, I guess." Kagura shrugs. "But really, have you seen these panties before?"

"…" Makoto examines the undergarment closely and, hesitantly, sniffs it. "…I think it belongs to Noel…"

"Aha!" Ragna smashes his fist on the table. "We thought as such! I saw that prick come out from Noel's room this morning. All weird and up to no good, I thought. And here it is! He stole her panties! As sick as always!"

"Aaand you in turn stole it from him…" Makoto mutters.

"While I enjoy seeing ladies in lingerie, it is not a gentleman's way to steal it for his own pleasure." Kagura shakes his head slowly in disapproval. "We have to teach him a lesson! Maybe we can hang it outside his room, or maybe…"

Usually Makoto would not go along with Kagura's antics, but this time it gets her squirrel senses tingling. Jin stealing Noel's panties? No way in hell! He hates her nuts! …That would be her normal reaction. But if her earlier mission is of any indication, something is definitely up between those two.

It is decided. She will get to the bottom of this strange affair. As their friend, she has to be the first to know if something's up! A pretty good excuse to cover up her desire to snoop into their private business, really.

"Go get some rest, Makoto. Kokonoe must have been hard on you. We will call you when we come up with something witty. Here, lemme help you with your bags, sweetheart." Makoto snaps out of her thoughts as Kagura grabs her shopping bag. Shit! Those are…

"…Condoms!" Kagura smirks as he takes out a box of it from the bag. "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Are these for our date tonight? You're so thoughtful, Makoto!"

"Die!" Another trademark groin kick from Makoto. "Kokonoe ordered me to buy them!"

"That old hag's gonna get laid?" Ragna chuckles. "You serious?"

"…She said it is part of the mission today." Makoto sighs. "Secret mission, you know. Don't ask about the details, okay? Not exactly something I want to recall."

"No need to buy them, babe. I have quite a lot of them in my room. If you are feeling up to it, just tell me and I'll give you- Owowowow!"

"Keep it in your pants! Perv!"

And so Makoto embarks on a great journey to discover the truth behind Jin and Noel… and to dispose of the boxes of condoms at her hands.


End file.
